![]() ![]() ![]() The specific atmosphere of London between the wars permeates every page of the novel. I was in the odd position of both being able to set the book aside for days at a time, and to be unable to put the book down when I was reading it. ![]() Lilian is a breath of fresh air to her, and they share an enjoyment of and a longing for more.įor a book encompassing lesbian sex, a secret love affair and murder, The Paying Guests proceeds at an outrageously measured pace. ![]() Still, she's going to do the right thing, even as she slips away to walk the streets of London and visit friends her mother disapproves of. Frances is being strangled by her life in her mother's house, doing all the housekeeping and budgeting while her mother frets about how things look and wonders when the servants can be rehired. This is a book that takes its time, preferring to pace itself on the slow tempo of life in a quiet, upmarket neighborhood, where although everything is observed, not much happens. Slowly, Lilian and Frances become friends, despite the class difference. Leonard Barber and his wife Lilian move into the house, which is uncomfortable at first for the Wrays. Show More Frances set aside her own plans and stayed at home to do the work of the servants who were let go and to prepare the house for lodgers, which Mrs Wray calls "paying visitors" so as to keep up appearances. ![]()
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